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| General FAQ | Ingredients | Flavor Options | Pricing | Cake Serving Sizes |
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Why choose Couture Cakes & Confections by A Bountiful Harvest? Now that you've found the perfect mate, we can't imagine that you would be happy celebrating your marriage with anything less than an exquisite one of a kind masterpiece that only Couture Cakes & Confections by A Bountiful Harvest can create for your special day. Every element of your celebration cake will be customized to your individual needs, desires and specifications - from the design, details, flavors, handmade gumpaste flowers right down to the finishing touches…it's all about you and your special day! How far ahead do I need to book my cake? We limit the number of cakes we commission each week, so the earlier you reserve your date with us the better. Typically, it's best to book at least six months in advance. We pre-book up to 18 months in advance. If you have your heart set on a cake from Couture Cakes & Confections by A Bountiful Harvest, our advice is to book it as early as possible. We turn away more cakes than we produce each year, so don't risk it, give us a call as soon as you know the date of your event! Why do I need to setup a consultation appointment? Your cake design process begins with a consultation at our artisan bakery in Hixson, Tennessee. We are available by appointment only to ensure that your design time goes uninterrupted. This allows us to focus on creating the perfect cake for your wedding. At Couture Cakes & Confections by A Bountiful Harvest, the most important part of working our magic is for us to understand your wants; therefore, we ask that you schedule a consultation with ample time (usually 4 - 6 months in advance) to allow for design, scheduling and creation of the perfect cake for your most perfect day. We offer more than just a photo album of pre-designed cakes and limited icing choices, in fact we have over 100 cake flavors to choose from! More importantly, we offer the opportunity for you to express your wants, needs and desires and a world of cake decorating techniques and mediums. We offer you a chance to take time to choose every aspect of your wedding cake carefully; we believe that you will be much happier with the outcome in the long run. Why do I need to know the exact date of the wedding reception before an appointment is scheduled? Again, here at Couture Cakes & Confections by A Bountiful Harvest we schedule a limited number of wedding & special event cake orders per week on a first come, first served basis. Our goal is to create the best not mass produce. Because we ship nationwide and hand deliver large special events cakes to areas in 6 states, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina and Kentucky (please call for exact delivery area details), an appointment is only scheduled when a firm date and reception site has been chosen by the bridal couple and we confirm that your date is available for us to commission your custom cake. What is the fee for your consultation and What should I expect during my consultation? There is a NON-REFUNDABLE $100.00 fee required to schedule your wedding consultation. Your consultation fee includes: a 45 minute personal one on one consultation with a cake stylist to discuss and design your cake, and three tasting samples. Sample flavors must be chosen at the time of your consultation booking otherwise we will provide our top selling flavors. When you book your wedding with Couture Cakes & Confections by A Bountiful Harvest the $100 consultation fee will be applied to your final cake price if your cake is over $500. However, the $100 it is not refundable in the event you do not book your cake with us and it is not applied towards cakes under $500. Please Note: We are a small but extremely busy artisan bakery so our free time is very limited and we must stop creating other customers orders to meet with you; therefore, should you require more time than this please be sure to tell us this when booking your consultation. Additional time will be billed at $100.00 per hour or any part thereof. What should I bring to my pre-scheduled consultation? Be sure to bring your planning book, ideas for cake size and styles you like, have your flexible cake budget in mind and be prepared to pay your 50% deposit to book your date. You may also wish to bring any swatches, ribbons, your invitation, pictures of the venue, your flowers, and other things you may have collected. We'll draw inspiration from the attire, the floral arrangements, the ceremony and reception sites, and other details from your day. We've found cake designs in the most unlikely of places. We love what we do! That makes designing a cake with Couture Cakes & Confections by A Bountiful Harvest a fun and creative process. No two weddings are the same, so we believe no two cakes should be either! If I bring you a photo of a cake I found elsewhere could you duplicate it? Please feel free to bring any photos of the size, style and design of cakes that interest you for inspiration; however, please note that we DO NOT copy or duplicate other decorators work. We will work to design something unique for you and your special event using elements you like. We put a lot of time and effort into creating our original designs to make your cake unique and special for you only to have many people try to duplicate our exquisite creations with lesser quality ingredients and craftsmanship. The Process - How great cakes are made... Slowly, very slowly! We built Couture Cakes & Confections by A Bountiful Harvest on the premise that quality can't be rushed and will never be compromised due to time constraints. We limit the number of cakes that we commission each week because they are baked fresh, never frozen (unless you require shipment to another state) and are filled and iced in a base of pure-butter Buttercream, then topped with a thin layer of our delicious vanilla or chocolate fondant for a flawless finish. You won't find a more delicious tasting cake or fondant out there! The average creation time for one of our wedding cakes is 18-60 hours! That's two to three of us spending between a six and twenty hour day on one cake. That doesn't include baking, or any of the fillings and icings; which we make entirely from scratch. Yes, I did say from scratch not out of a boxed cake mix or icing out of 25 lb bucket! Why does it take so long? First of all, we don't have mass-produced stock cake designs out of a book like grocery stores and many other bakeries where you select a number, such as, A13 or B12 where we look at a picture to duplicate it, each cake we design is a unique creation. Our small staff meticulously copies lace and embroidery details onto the fondant with a stylus or pin prick technique. We custom match all of our colors to swatches supplied by our clients (no pre-made bakery mint greens or bubblegum pinks here). Our cakes are often hand-painted, lustered and even gilded in edible gold leaf. We hand cut stencils and templates to match filigree patterns from invitations and brocade fabrics or whatever you've provided for inspiration. It's all about the decorative details - Our bows, bow loops, gum paste flowers, sugar monograms, hand-sculpted figures, etc. are all created in-house two to three weeks in advance of each wedding or special event to ensure ample drying time. Contrary to what you see on the ever growing countless number of television cake shows popping up they can not be cut out and immediately stuck on the cake, they need time to dry into the perfect shape. Remember one of the wonders of television is they have plenty of stock piled pre-made flowers in the back ground to magically replace the ones they've just cut out! We've made edible cake toppers ranging from the Nintendo games, Marines in their dress blues, to life like creations of the bride and groom's, Pirates, Animals, etc! That means that at any given time there are hundreds of large and small gum paste blooms, flowers, bows, and other handmade accessories in various states of creation gracing our decorating rooms and on our bakery racks and we wouldn't want it any other way! Who should I bring to my consultation? Our design studio is small with limited seating therefore we ask that you bring no more than three people total; i.e., the bride, groom and wedding planner or the bride, groom and bride's mother, etc. We also ask that you DO NOT bring children to your consultation. Why should I have a budget in mind for my wedding cake? When you're planning a wedding, the cost involved can become overwhelming. It is best to have a budget in mind for everything including your wedding cake and grooms' cake. Custom wedding cakes are very detailed and very time consuming and the costs can add up when you start adding lots of handmade detailing, i.e., handmade/hand-painted gumpaste or fondant flowers, custom made lace, custom piping and hand-painting, handmade pearls, beading, brooches, cake jewelry, custom monogram letters, cake toppers, etc. The more labor that goes into a cake and the more bling that goes onto cake the more the cake costs. Therefore, if you arrive with at least a flexible budget in mind it can help our staff better understand your needs so we can help you create the perfect cake for your special day to stay within your budget. Please keep in mind our cakes start at $5.50 per serving for a minimally decorated cake. The final cake price is determined by the number of hours needed for creation, difficulty of design, flavors, fillings, etc. not just by the number of servings. How do I book my date/cake? To book a Wedding, Groom's or Special Event cake over $500 a 50% non refundable deposit is required at the time of consultation with the contract balance due in full 12 weeks prior to your wedding date. Couture Cakes & Confections by A Bountiful Harvest presently accepts cash and credit cards - MasterCard, Visa and American Express. PLEASE NOTE: All cakes priced at $500 & under must be paid in full at time of order to reserve date. Your date becomes reserved ONLY when the "Wedding Cake Contract" is signed & your 50% non-refundable deposit is received. What if I don't have 12 weeks advance notice to book my cake? LAST MINUTE WEDDINGS: On occasion we are able to book a wedding with less then 12 weeks prior to the event date if that date is available or our busy schedule allows us to create your cake. In order to do so your cake MUST BE paid in FULL on the date it is booked regardless of the final cost. Your cake is non-refundable and there will be no changes made to the original design. No Exceptions. Do you rent cake stands or plateaus? Yes, we have assorted styles and sizes available for rental. Cake stand rental fees are based on your selection and must also be prepaid 12 weeks prior to your event date. Rental fees range from $15 - $55 depending. A refundable security deposit is required for all rentals. Do you offer custom made cake plateaus or cake risers? Yes, we have several options for creating custom made cake plateaus. We also offer custom made fabric cake riser covers which can be coordinated with your wedding color theme, style, etc. Price for custom made plateaus or fabric riser covers varies. Delivery & Setup Fees: We charge $50.00 delivery and setup for all wedding cakes in the city of Chattanooga. We will coordinate the time with you and schedule to meet you or your wedding coordinator and set up your cake during our normal business hours (Mon - Fri 10 am-6pm & Sat - 10am-4pm). Delivery & setup outside of normal business hours is available; however, the after hours delivery fee is $100.00. Please inquire in advance if after hours delivery is needed. Out of town delivery is available at the following rates: .65 cents per mile to and from site, plus $50.00 per hour (includes driving time to and from site and setup time). Please Note: Out of Town delivery hourly rate is double during all Holidays and Graduation weeks and for all Sunday deliveries. CANCELLATION POLICY: In the event of cancellation prior to our 12 week lockout date no part of the original 50% non-refundable deposit or $100 consultation fee is entitled to a refund. Cakes cancelled after the 12 week lockout date are not entitled to any refund. No exceptions will be made. CAN I HAVE SOMEONE PICK UP MY CAKE? Picking up your cake is a great way to save money. If you choose to pick up your cake you should make sure that you have a clean, flat surface to set the cake on while driving. Vans, sport utility and any vehicle that the back seat folds in so the air conditioning can make it to the back are the best for traveling. If you are in a car, the floor is generally safer than the seat. Most of our cakes are either too large or irregularly shaped to fit in a cake box so you need to take special care to protect them. If your cake can be boxed we will create a heavy duty box for it and secure the base of the cake in that box. Once you leave our business with the cake it is no longer the responsibility of Couture Cakes & Confections by A Bountiful Harvest. Wedding & Special Events Cake 'Must Asks & Need to Knows'
Q) When was your last health inspection and what was your score?
Q) Why is it important to have a licensed commercial facility that is regularly inspected by the state health inspector?
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